Coffee Shop
by leafygirl
Summary: A waitress in a Coffee Shop meets a mysterious stranger.  Their lives and fates are tied together so much more than she could ever have imagined.  A kakasaku AU. Multiple characters.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Naruto nor do I profit from it in any way.

I've been a little more active in fandom lately, and I've had a number of people ask me about Coffee Shop. I had taken Coffee Shop down ages ago, but have found some of the chapters, plus a new one that was never posted. I'm planning to repost the chapters. I need to rebuild 2 of them as they are missing. There are 5 original, plus one new one. Not sure if I'll get the notion to finish this, but you never know. I'm enjoying fandom again.

Coffee Shop

Chapter 1 - Ten Minutes in Heaven

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><p>The dim streetlamp blanketed the dirty avenue outside in a soft light, but even so, it was still possible to see her reflection clearly in the tall coffee shop windows as she looked out. Sakura sighed at the darkness outside, wishing to be home in bed. Throughout the night, as she rushed past red vinyl booths with gray formica table tops, she would stop momentarily to look at her dishevelled image in one of those makeshift mirrors. It just seemed to get more tired looking every time.<p>

The hot coffee pot in her hand was almost empty - a testament to her long night of wafting through the smoke filled café, over sticky checked tiled floors while dodging dirty grasping fingers below table edges. The powdered blue uniform she wore was short - too short in her opinion, and she briefly recalled the look on her boss' face when he said it was the only size they had left and that she would fit in it '_just fine_.'

His intonation should have been her first indication to look harder for another job, but this one paid well when she considered all the tips. For a struggling twenty-year old med student, making ends meet was more important for her future than a few straining buttons on a cotton dress or a smirk from an oversized man sporting greasy stains on his shirt below his five o'clock shadow.

"Sakura! Start a new pot of coffee!" his gravelly voice yelled from behind the long diner counter, as he shook the empty glass decanter.

"You're right there," she mumbled inaudibly, but felt secretly better for it. Taking a last look at her long tousled pink hair, half-tied back, she slipped some stray strands over her ear before returning behind the counter to prepare the next pot.

It wasn't much of a career choice for now, but it was enough - a means to an end.

Before she'd arrived in the big city of Konoha, she'd been warned by her protective father about letting herself get 'taking in' or 'used'. She understood what he meant very well now as she'd been mugged twice in the two years she was there. But still, she loved the freedom of knowing she was working toward something.

"You're so beautiful, Sakura. You should stay here and get married," her father pleaded from behind the counter of the small shop he ran. She'd grown up helping her family run the business. Perhaps that's how she discovered she wanted more than that, wanted to do something better with her life. She had no disrespect for her father and his livelihood, but it was not what she wanted to do for the rest of her days as he had done, as his parents before him.

_Beautiful _her father had called her, as had the young men who would ask her to come for walks or take her to the movies while trying innocently to win her heart. What would those boys think if they saw her now, slugging coffee in a dress that looked like it was ready to burst open?

Chuckling to herself, she supposed they'd enjoy it a little. The buttons threatened to break free from the fabric, and silently she urged them to stay where they were.

Like every other night, slowly but surely the coffee shop emptied one patron at a time as the clock neared one AM. There was almost no one left but an elderly couple in the corner holding hands and sharing the last piece of cherry pie, and then a trio of young rowdy men looking like they were just coming from the bar down the street for a wake-up cup of java.

"How about you blow this place off and come with us, Sakura?" one said suggestively. "You look like a live one." His eyes trailed down her uniform and then back up again – not exactly resting on her eyes. The other two smirked in agreement.

_Cursed name-tag_, she thought absently.

"Sorry, I've got toilets to clean." She smiled exaggeratedly as they laughed, giving her the usual looks she got from men as their eyes couldn't help but drift to her long legs under the lace-hemmed uniform.

She wandered away from the table, a shiver rolling up her back with still feeling their stares on her.

The clock ticked away the night to almost one-thirty when she was finally able to take a moment of rest from the coffee races. She poured herself a steaming mug of green tea and found a place on a round ripped corner stool at the diner bar. The dried coffee rings glared up from the flecked counter, daring her to clean, but she managed to ignore them for the moment.

_In a minute_, she thought to herself, _I have a date with Mr. Green Tea_.

A deep sigh escaped her as she let the luxurious heat sink into her fingers while gently cradling the mug between them. She let her feet slip a little from her black patent shoes and crossed her legs; one shoe dangled leisurely from her toe. It was almost bliss. Almost.

The warm steam from the drink tickled and wet her nose, but before it touched her lips, the glass door swung open and the ring of the overhead bell ripped her moment of relaxation out of her grasp.

_Damn_, she grumbled inwardly_, so close_.

Slipping her swollen feet fully back into her shoes, she relinquished her loving grip on the mug and slid off the stool. She managed a dismissive hand in her patron's direction, mumbling to him to "take a seat and I'll be right there" as her focus remained on the heel that stuck in a crack in the floor. Finally freeing herself, she moved around the counter to get the coffee pot from its heated perch among the gleaming dishes and cutlery before heading back to the booths.

"Hey Sakura," her grease covered manager grunted from the window behind the counter, "Your big tipper is here."

"What?" Her head snapped up as her stomach fluttered with excitement.

Swiftly her eyes roved along the row of booths in front of the mirror-like windows to rest on tonight's late customer. It was him - the same man who made his way in there at some point every Wednesday night with the exception of the previous week. Same order every time: black coffee, two sugars and a piece of cherry pie that he never completely ate.

Her fingers gripped the coffee pot lightly with her left hand as her right absently tried to tuck her stray strands of light hair neatly behind her ears. She gave a short tug on her tight dress, checking the front for stains before she moved towards him.

He was sitting in the same booth as always with his back to the wall in the darkest corner of the shop; his gaze was turned to the window, an arm slung over the booth back casually.

"Hey Black Coffee. You haven't been in for a while." Sakura smiled genuinely as she overturned the chipped cup on the saucer in front of him. His silver hair was cut short but messy, and as his dark eyes turned to look at her, his expression changed from a pensive look to something of a smile. His slim black tie over his white shirt was loosened, and his collar was open slightly. Tonight, he still wore his stylish black suit jacket instead of taking it off and flipping it over the booth seat as he usually did.

"Been busy," he exhaled, "If you don't mind I'll have…"

"Black coffee, and cherry pie?" She grinned as one corner of his mouth rose in a smile. "Sorry, no cherry pie tonight, Kakashi. All out."

"What else do have that's sweet?" He slowly stirred the coffee and reached with his other hand to the small sugar packets, pulling out the usual two.

_Just me_, she mused inwardly as she admired the warm look his eyes had when he smiled at her. "The apple pie was baked fresh today."

"All right," he intimated softly. "I guess deviating from routine is good sometimes."

"I'll be right back." She calmly paced back towards the diner counter where she began to unwrap the apple pie in the cooler from the clear plastic saran.

Checking his watch, the late coffee shop patron turned to the windows and watched the people passing by. _Looks like routine might be changed a lot tonight_, he mused inwardly_._

His contact was late, which usually meant the job was off. Kakashi was tired from a long week and wasn't in the mood to take a life tonight. Sitting in the comfortable booth and watching the pretty waitress make eyes at him was about all he felt like doing for the next hour.

With just his thoughts, his eyes inadvertently strayed in her direction. One of her legs was crooked as she leaned over the counter, reaching for something. Her uniform was too tight and rode up as she stretched, but he had no complaints. When she poured his coffee, if she turned just right, he could see into her shirt from the strain of the fabric at the buttons. Just that small tease of skin and a lacy white bra could make his night. Of course it was white.

She was clean, beautiful, untainted like the women in his life. This girl had a future. Maybe that was what drew him into the coffee shop every Wednesday night when she worked the late shift. Maybe it was what made him tell her his real name (which only a handful of people in the world knew) during some innocent flirtation a month or two ago. Her eyes looked curious, not jaded; they weren't full of a lifetime of seeing things she should never have had to see.

She couldn't see the man he really was, and it made him remember when he was clean and untainted once upon a time. He remembered what it was like when he did it all for the principal and not for the money.

As if the young girl could hear his thoughts, she turned in his direction and smiled. He couldn't help but smile back. She was so damned beautiful.

Sakura lifted the fresh pot of coffee and the slice of pie from the counter, careful not to spill or get her finger into it. She walked along the aisle towards Kakashi and noticed he had that distant look as his gaze rested on something outside.

She'd seen that cold look in his eye before, but it was usually on the nights when a second man would come in, equally as handsome, and sit at the table for a moment with him. The second stranger had light brown hair and gorgeous brown eyes, and for some reason he would always take a coffee to go and put the stir stick between his teeth. His flirtation with her was a little too blatant.

Sometimes, her tipper would bring women in, dressed to the nines and draped in mink stoles over their Alaia dresses and diamond necklaces. Sometimes there was a wedding ring; sometimes their dresses were not so clean. But they all looked older, refined, sophisticated. Sakura imagined herself dressed in something beautiful while sitting across from such a man, imagining that when her life as a doctor began that it might be possible one day.

Kakashi never allowed them be rude to her. More than once Sakura had seen him put a woman into a cab outside after she'd said something unfriendly to her. And he'd never brought the same woman in twice.

She whisked over to Kakashi, quietly placing the pie in front of him and slipping the bill from her pocket to place it on the table edge. He never ordered anymore than he currently had, and sometimes when the other man came in, they left quite quickly.

"Long night?" he asked calmly, picking up the fork from the plate.

"And then some," she laughed lightly, loving his smooth, deep voice. It was the kind of voice women imagined in the dark hours alone, dreaming of the perfect lover in their beds. She imagined he was probably never alone when he didn't want to be.

The scent of his cologne made her breathe deeply, amplifying her attraction to him. A scar ran up and down through his left eye, but it was straight and perfect – never detracting from how handsome his face was. His bedroom eyes were dark, lazy, and just a slightly different colour from each other; she liked that mystery about him.

"I guess you get some characters in here late at night. Maybe you should find somewhere better to work." Kakashi sipped the hot coffee.

"Well I would, but then I'd never see you, Kakashi. Wednesday nights just wouldn't be the same." She laughed sweetly and leaned on her elbow on the vinyl back of the seat across from him. She truly meant it.

He could see that tease of skin through her buttons.

Sakura remained leaning there while looking around the room. "It looks like the happy couple finished eating your piece of cherry pie. I should go and give them the bill," she said offhandedly.

The elderly couple were holding hands next to an empty plate and Sakura darted over, pulling her receipt book from her pocket with a pleasant smile.

Kakashi watched her legs all the way over.

When she was finished, she wandered back to where Kakashi was sitting and cocked her head. "No one joining you this evening? Your tall friend usually comes in most times when you're alone."

Kakashi smiled a little, pleased that he'd had no companion tonight. "Must have found something better to do."

"Want some more coffee?" Sakura asked timidly, gently fingering the strand of hair that kept slipping from over her ear.

"Not right now," he responded with a pleasant smile just for her. He took a deep breath and turned to the windows again.

Sakura rubbed her sore neck a little and wandered back to the diner counter, believing he wanted some time to think. It was getting close to closing time anyway and she needed to start the night's cleaning. She dragged her sore feet into the kitchen, around the dishwasher, the boss, and the garbage containers in the back to find her supplies. But upon realizing the broom wasn't leaning in the usual spot in the kitchen corner, she figured for once her boss had put it back in the closet. So she spun on her heel and wandered down the short side hallway to find Kakashi just coming out of the washroom, his hands stuffed in his pockets and looking like something right out of a magazine.

_Damn, he's gorgeous_, she mused, while walking right towards him.

He stopped directly across from the broom closet, leaned casually on the wall, and just watched her.

"Did you need something else?" she asked, absently playing with a straining button. She stopped right in front of him and put her hand on the broom closet doorknob, pulling it open, but still gazing at Kakashi questioningly.

The closet was a small room half the size of a normal closet, and inside there was only a broom on a hook and an old apron hanging behind it.

"I was just going to get going," he finally said after she caught him glancing at where her fingertips spun her button.

"Well…since your friend didn't come tonight, I wouldn't mind some company. I'm almost finished. Did you want to stay for one more coffee?" Sakura nervously reached over and pinched his tie in her fingers, meeting his gaze, but feeling heat rush her cheeks from putting out a blatant signal. She wasn't exactly sure of why she was doing it, but the idea of him leaving left her feeling hollow.

Maybe it was the mystery or the intrigue of who he was. Maybe she wanted to be in the same realm as those posh women who would parade in behind him and look at her like she was garbage, all the while worried he didn't care about them. Maybe she was just lonely because she had no one in the city but her professors and a greasy man who yelled at her to make coffee. A handsome acquaintance might help her just feel a little better for a while.

Kakashi smiled a little and looked down at the fingers rubbing his tie between them. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Sakura grabbed his tie a little tighter and tugged it just slightly. It made him smile.

She laughed nervously, waving her previous question away. "I'm sorry. I've seen the women you bring in here. They're so beautiful and refined. I guess it was silly of me to ask. The coffee is on me tonight, Kakashi." She let his tie go and hastily turned her attention to the closet.

"Don't ever compare yourself to those women, Sakura. You're so much better than they are. And I said it wasn't a good idea. I didn't say no." He straightened up and took a step forward. "But is it coffee you really want? I've had enough coffee tonight."

Her green eyes flicked back up to his mismatched ones, shocked at his question, shocked that he knew what she was thinking and wasn't going to make her take the long way around to get to it. Perhaps he could read women like a book. Perhaps he could see the loneliness and the need for a little warmth or companionship in her eyes – she didn't care how he understood.

Timidly, she shook her head just enough to let him know he was right. Speaking was out of the question.

Almost shockingly fast, his strong hand rested on her waist and with a little direction, he maneuvered them into the broom closet. There was barely enough room for two people to stand without touching, which didn't matter in the least.

Kakashi pulled the door but didn't shut it. A stream of light from the crack seemed to run between them and if Sakura looked at it, she could see the Diner doorway and the back of one of the young men's heads in the booth.

"Sh…should we shut the door?" she whispered.

One side of Kakashi's mouth rose. "No."

"We might get caught," she added, realizing after she spoke that he intended for them to have that added factor.

"Stop talking," he commanded gently. Slowly, he lifted a hand to her buttons and began to undo them achingly slowly. There was no hesitation or shake to his fingers. He was a man who knew what he wanted and how to get it.

Three buttons later, he could see the skin just lower than the bottom of her bra, and the white lace above it. She was breathing heavily, scared somewhat, and he liked the sound of it.

Gently, he leaned down and kissed her – just a soft brush of lips. He tested the waters, making sure she didn't want to change her mind. She couldn't have been more than twenty and being in his thirties, he remembered how hasty he was at that age, acting before thinking.

But if she were objecting, or second-guessing herself, she wasn't showing it in the least. In fact, her boldness in coming in the closet with him was impressive and, had to admit, quite a turn on. It was a first for him too.

This time, he put a hand on the back of her neck and pulled her to him, kissing her deeply. His tongue swept against hers and she made a noise of appreciation deep in her throat. If that wasn't a yes, he didn't know what was.

Sakura could feel her heart pounding in her chest, brought on by his fingers lightly digging into her hair and the taste of coffee on his tongue. She could smell his cologne, and feel the roughness against her face of some beginning stubble on his upper lip. A strong hand slid up along the back of her thigh under her short dress, squeezing just below her pantyline. Thank goodness she'd worn the lace ones today.

Unfortunately, circumstances being what they were, there was no choice but to rush.

He kissed her harder, faster, trailed wet kisses down to her throat, sucked the skin into his mouth, and nipped gently. She knew he'd leave a mark but didn't give a damn. They didn't have a lot of time and so she responded equally as strongly to him, lifting a leg and propping her foot on the wall beside him.

Plates and glasses clinked in the kitchen and someone walked by the door. They both stopped for a second, nothing but their desperate breathing filled the small room.

Then Kakashi grabbed her wrist and spun her around, placing her hand up on the wall and encouraging her to lean backward against him. His hard chest pressed against her shoulder blades. His other hand went to the stray strands of hair and brushed them out of his way so he could get to her neck. His fingers pulled her dress open a little so he could expose her shoulder for his kisses as well.

Sakura lifted both hands to the wall and spread her legs, pressing her body against his front. His erection was hard against her behind, and his breathing was thick in her ear as he nibbled her earlobe.

One of his hands slid back under her dress in the front, pressing his fingers into her inner thigh and dragging upwards. His other hand reached around her arm and slipped into her dress under her bra.

Again, she made a breathy noise of appreciation as she fell back against him, her head back against his shoulder.

When his fingers drew into the top of her panties, she actually groaned.

Her nipple grew taught under his fingers as he pinched it gingerly and cupped her breast. But it was the gentle slide of his fingers between her legs that took her concentration away.

"You're already wet," he whispered against her throat as he slid a finger inside her.

"Yes," was all she could answer in a breathy voice. His simple manipulation of her clitoris was building up the tight spiral of pleasure inside her almost as soon as his fingers touched her there.

"Sakura?" her boss' voice called gruffly from the kitchen.

Kakashi's attention slowed for a second, but Sakura hissed out, "Don't stop." So he continued with increased fervour.

She ground back against him, and he was surprised to be so hard so quickly. But she was different from other women, and it turned him on to taint her just a little. He would have given almost anything to have enough time to fuck her, but for someone so perfect, he'd need all night. Ten minutes in the broom closet was beneath her.

He continued his slow massage against her clitoris, sliding up and down to slip a finger inside her every couple of strokes.

"Hey Sakura? Where is that kid?" her boss yelled again as he stomped by the door.

Sakura's body moved with Kakashi's hand, rolling her hips with each stroke, feeling the buildup flowing through her abdomen in waves until it became one long string of pleasure. She panted and pushed her forehead up against the wall, trying hard not to groan loudly as the orgasm hit and her knees buckled slightly.

Kakashi spread the fingers of his other hand against her mouth, and felt her tongue slide out to lick the one on her lips. Obligingly, he let her suck it gently, humming pleasure around it.

It was all Kakashi could do not to cum himself.

As she finally came down from her euphoria, he held her until she could stand up on her own.

"Sa-kur-a!" her boss yelled.

"You'd better get out there," Kakashi mumbled against her throat, pecking her a couple of times.

"Y-yeah," she said shakily. "You go first. I-I just need a minute."

Kakashi laughed softly and then let her go. He stepped to the door and looked out of the crack before opening it and slipping out into the hallway. One quick smile at her, and he then headed back out to the booths.

Sakura took a deep breath. Did she just do what she just did? With him?

With shaking fingers and a huge smile, she grabbed the broom and after doing up her buttons and fixing her skirt, she darted out of the closet to run right into her boss.

"What the hell have you been up to?" he growled, perching his large hands on his non-existent hips.

Sakura worked on her stray strand again and smiled innocently. "Nothing."

"Your tipper is at the counter. He's ready to pay."

"Gotcha," she said quickly and darted past him, the broom still in her hand.

When she approached the till by the door, Kakashi was waiting there. He smiled wryly and she couldn't help but grin back widely.

"It's on me tonight, Kakashi," she said quietly as she stopped in front of him.

"It's not my style, but all right. The bill is on the table." He tipped his head toward the booth table and then put his hand on the door handle. "See you next Wednesday," he said with a wink, and then pushed his way out.

The overhead bell tinkled his exit, and Sakura fell lightly against the counter, wanting to laugh and shout to everyone what they had just done. She was practically bursting with it.

Only a week and he'd be back.

"What are you so happy about?" her boss asked from a stool at the counter. "Big tip?"

"You could say that," she grinned. "See you next Wednesdaaaaay," she sang as she began to sweep the room.

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><p>Reviews are not necessary. Thanks.<p> 


	2. Through the Looking Glass

Please don't forget that this story was written years ago and is only being reposted. I will not be making any changes to characterization as a result of changes in the manga. And yeah, Konan is a total OOC in this. But I needed a nice female villain. Its an AU so there are liberties with characterization.

Coffee Shop

Chapter 2 - Through The Looking Glass

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><p>Exiting to the tinkle of the Coffee Shop bell, Kakashi breathed deeply and laughed to himself. Sliding into a broom closet with a cute waitress was not something he'd imagined himself ever doing. But he supposed they were both taken by the moment and mutual attraction so what harm was there? No one had seen them, and no one would be the wiser. Sometimes the unplanned moment was the best.<p>

He could still taste her cherry lip gloss. The girl could kiss...

The streets were empty and the dim streetlamps laid out the path to the apartment down the block which he spent most nights in. The tall gray buildings looked lonely and forlorn in the cool night with their dirty cracked windows and the rusted fire escapes clawing at the edges. Plumes of steam rose from the sewer grates and ever present garbage blew along the sidewalks and gutters.

It depressed him a little that such a nice girl lived in such a downtrodden part of town, and that such a nice girl had to walk the street alone at a time like that. She would never have to know that he watched her trek home after work until she entered the foyer door of her building two over from his. She'd never have to know that his windows faced hers so he could be sure she was safe day after day. She never really had to know anything about what happened outside her peaceful world, even though his existence in the city was partially due to her.

A twinge of shame crept into his gut. He supposed it was nice to know he was still capable of feeling that. Must still be slightly human. Against all better judgement, he'd crossed the line tonight. He'd always kept their contact to a minimum and kept her out of his life in any personal way. Tsunade would kill him if she found out – literally have him murdered. But how could he regret a such an encounter? The memory of her sighs and moans as he made her orgasm with just one finger almost made him hard again. What was it about that girl...? Maybe he needed a different assignment. Maybe he was getting a little obsessed.

"Oi," a voice came from down the street and Kakashi spun calmly, reaching into a pocket to pull out a pack of smokes. A tap on his wrist made two cigarettes jump up slightly from the plastic wrapped box and he held one out for the man sauntering up to him.

"Thanks," the tall brunette said as he pulled the coffee stir stick from his mouth. He flicked it to the ground with the rest of the ubiquitous garbage, and then slipped a cigarette between his grin. "Missed you at the coffee shop. Don't you usually hang around in there on Wednesdays?"

"Sometimes."

"That girl has a tasty ass. I think you go there just to look up her dress. Thank goodness for perverted bosses who dress their waitresses in uniforms two sizes too small."

"I was just heading home, Genma. You're late. We don't have a job, do we?" Kakashi asked coolly, lighting his cigarette and holding out the silver zippo for Genma. He managed to hide his perturbation so well anymore.

"Madara wants to see you. Sorry, no fun tonight. Did you have some juicy thing waiting for you at home?" Genma's gaze drifted up to the dark windows of the building across the street, not really seeing them.

"Not tonight," Kakashi breathed out after taking a long drag of his cigarette. He watched the smoke curl up toward the clear night sky.

She'd be leaving the shop shortly...

Tsunade was really going to kill him.

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><p>Sakura sighed happily as she finished sweeping the aisles. The last of the patrons were leaving and again she was invited for a late night jaunt to an after-hours club by the young rowdy boys at the first booth. And again she smiled and declined, having a hard time getting pissed off with anything at the moment, even their leers.<p>

It was so late and she had to get home and cram for an hour or two before getting some sleep. A biology exam was creeping up fast and she was prepared but couldn't find any reason not to continue studying. It made the time alone in her apartment go faster.

With a wave to her boss and then grabbing her coat off the hook in the back, Sakura took her leave by the front door, hearing the crash-bar click and snap to lock behind her.

The streets were as dark as pitch, and the dingy look of the neighborhood only added to the general creepiness. Luckily the vagrants were to a minimum in that area, and she felt relatively safe walking the block to her apartment. Tonight was no different.

Gripping the tiny canister of pepper spray in her pocket a little tighter, just for good measure, Sakura darted along the streets until she reached the secured entrance door of her apartment building. Already she had the keys in hand and quickly unlocked the door to the sound of a car-alarm beeping on the next street and the mewling of cat in the narrow nearby alley. Climbing the steps, she flew up to the third floor, past bottles outside Mrs. Henry's door and past the gray, dented elevator doors with yellow caution tape crossed over them. Again using her keys, she slipped into the apartment and sighed with relief, turning back to flick the deadbolt, the latch lock, and lastly the lock on the knob.

Another night finished, another shift over, and a little more money towards her medical degree.

Sakura glanced around the apartment and spotted her biology text laying open on her futon. Maybe tonight she'd give herself permission not to bother. Maybe tonight she'd just lie on that futon and think about Kakashi's hands on her until she fell asleep.

She could still smell his cologne on her clothes, feel his lips against hers, feel his hands on her skin. She was turned on again just thinking about it - the throb between her legs aching and hot. How long had it been since she'd let a man touch her in any way? Obviously too long as it took about thirty seconds for her to orgasm. Of course, he was probably pretty talented in that department so she'd give him the credit.

"_See you next Wednesday,"_ he'd said. A week was beginning to seem so much longer than usual.

She looked out the long windows that ran from floor to ceiling in her apartment, making the location worth being in such a neighborhood. The next building was short and her windows overlooked it's tarred roof. The building one over had long windows as well, but the ones across from hers were always dark. She believed it was vacant and was glad for it.

Her cozy apartment was a bachelor style and everything except the bathroom was in one room. The countertop ran along the back with a small sink, and cupboards underneath; the floors were wooden and scratched up from years of use, but were classic nonetheless. The wall the windows were on was high, probably fifteen feet, and it was a dark brown brick and sturdy. Her bed lay at the other end of the large room and a small sofa and television on a stand sat in the middle on a plush area rug.

All in all, she loved it. Perhaps when she was a doctor she'd retain it for sentimental reasons and put a little money into fixing it up. But for now, every penny would go to helping her father pay for her education. How he came up with the money for her to live comfortably every month was beyond comprehension.

She owed him so much.

Stripping and then slipping into a tank top and shorts, Sakura flicked off the lights and slid into bed, pushing the heavy textbook to the floor.

For a long time, she lay awake and thought about how he smelled and tasted and felt. She reprimanded herself, inwardly warning that he was out of her league and he was just having some sort of short dalliance with her, but she couldn't help wondering what came next.

Time would tell, or rather, one full week.

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><p>Kakashi wandered slowly behind Genma through a large iron door and down the dark stairs below; each tap of his black shoes on the concrete risers echoed in the silence. When they reached the bottom, the yellow light overhead flickered above a short hallway and a second door.<p>

Taking a deep breath, Kakashi waited for Genma to open it. "What does he want?" he asked quietly.

Genma shrugged. "Something about ANBU, I think. Said he had some questions you might have answers to." He grabbed the rusty handle and pulled the heavy door, the hinges groaning. When the door was opened, a flurry of noise assaulted them as men and women stacked and piled things for shipping in the large underground warehouse – all stolen, all illegal.

"He's in the office," Genma mumbled, pointing to the large windows on a second floor room that hung above the warehouse. Obviously the towering office was a good place to make sure the workers didn't steal anything as it loomed above everything. The windows were covered in blinds and only shadows and silhouettes showed through. There were at least three people in there that they could see.

"Aren't you coming?" Kakashi asked calmly, stuffing his fists into his pockets and squeezing his elbow a little to his side to feel the comfort of the gun in the holster under his arm.

"I'm not invited." Genma laughed, but it wasn't very happy. He slipped off his own black jacket, lifted his cigarette into a half-assed salute, and then wandered to a table in the corner where some other people they knew as high ranking Akatsuki members played cards.

Approaching the room above, Kakashi butted out his cigarette on the rickety wooden stair rail and proceeded to climb. The office door was open when he reached the top, and indeed, three people waited inside.

"Pein. Close the door," Madara simply commanded.

The redheaded man in the long black coat who sat on a backwards chair got up and wandered over to snap the door shut, reaching behind Kakashi who remained within two steps of the only exit.

"That a new one?" Kakashi mumbled, pointing to his own septum and focusing on one of Pein's many facial piercings.

"No," Pein grunted, wandering back to his chair.

The girl, Konan, with the blue hair, slid up onto Madara's desk at the other side of the room, crossing her legs and not caring about how short her skirt was. Kakashi noticed she usually did things like that around him, but he never felt inclined to admire her show. Two reasons kept his eyes where they should be and one was Pein. The other was that he'd rather have a kick to the groin than to touch a woman like her. He imagined she'd kill him in his sleep just for snoring.

The man behind the desk laced his fingers on the wooden surface and glared at Kakashi with intensely dark eyes. Once or twice, Kakashi had sworn he'd seen Madara's eyes tinted red, but it was probably just a trick of the lights. His face was that of an older man, but there was still something young about him in the slender youthfulness of his jaw, and the modern look to his long hair. His sharp blue suit was sharp and intimidating, fitting in perfectly with the rest of his professional thugs.

"You wanted to see me?" Kakashi spoke first, figuring he'd rather get it overwith than to wait. He maintained a casual stance, slouching just a little, one hand still resting in his pocket. In a situation like his current one, he always kept his right out, just in case he needed to go for the gun.

"We received some news recently and I was hoping you could confirm some of it. It appears that Tsunade may have a relative in the city. A granddaughter. We have an opportunity here. What do you know about it? As a former ANBU, you might have had a chance to see Tsunade with her or to know what the child's name might be."

Madara stood up and walked around his desk, making Kakashi's fingers flex. He leaned against the front, right next to Konan.

"I was only about fifteen when I was with ANBU. I wasn't in the same circles as Tsunade. She was in the labs. I was in...my division. They weren't in the same area."

"Yes. You were in the assassin squad, correct? One of the best, I understand, even at such a young age," Madara recited with a hint of awe. "Shame they couldn't hang onto you."

"Akatsuki pays better." Kakashi shrugged diffidently.

Madara laughed and Konan added her sweet tone to it. Pein hadn't even twitched his lip.

"I've sent a message to our informants to find out who she is. If we can get our hands on her, Tsunade's hold on the city will crumble. She's too soft for her own good. The girl will be perfect leverage for forcing Tsunade to forfeit her rights in Konoha city to the underground trade. We can force her to give us the contracts and to get out of our way. I'm tired of her keeping us under her thumb."

"Do you have any leads?" Kakashi queried as if it really didn't matter.

"I feel we'll have something very soon. I've put Kisame on keeping in touch with the informants and as soon as we know, we'll act." Madara stood again, using Konan's knee to push himself up. "I can count on you, can't I, Kakashi? You don't have any lingering loyalty to ANBU, do you?"

"You shouldn't have to ask me that . You know why I left," Kakashi said coolly, trying to put just a touch of warning in his voice.

"Good," Madara hissed. He glanced sideways at Pein, who still remained slumped in his chair, his chin on the back of it and his eyes trained on Kakashi.

"You know, Hatake," Madara added as if it were a second thought. "I don't know if I've ever told you this, but you're the only man that makes me feel nervous. It's an strange sensation. I'd heard stories about you before you joined us and I was incredibly impressed, which is something else that doesn't happen often. I was told you could mimic any assassin and use any weapon."

Kakashi nodded once, keeping his eyes moving between the three in the room.

"I should also tell you it's not a feeling I like. If you didn't work for me, I would probably have you killed," the Uchiha added nonchalantly.

At this point, Kakashi remained silent, pressing the gun against his side again with his arm.

"You may go now. But if you hear anything, please pass it through Kisame. If we find her, I'll be counting on you to help retrieve her. No doubt they'll be watching her so it will be a difficult operation."

"Of course," Kakashi replied evenly, turning to the door and pulling it open.

"Hey Hatake," Konan sang from her perch on the desk. "I like your suit."

When Kakashi glanced back, he saw the downturned corners of Pein's mouth and the devious grin of the girl with the blue hair.

Without wasting another second, Kakashi slipped out, and didn't look back.

* * *

><p>The breakfast rush at the coffee shop was over by ten thirty, and Kakashi leisured at the corner booth and sipped his black coffee, watching the fifty year old waitress lumbering along through the aisle. He wanted a cigarette, but he would have to wait. The smell of the pies baking and the rich coffee in the air made him hungry. He'd hoped they'd thought to put in a cherry one.<p>

"How's the coffee?" a man asked from the edge of Kakashi's booth.

"Dark and burnt," Kakashi replied, pointing to the vinyl seat on the other side of the booth. "It's about time, Yamato. I've been here for twenty minutes."

"What's the urgency," Yamato asked, sloughing off his down vest and rolling up his jacket sleeves a little. He plunked down in the booth and sighed, glancing out the window and then around at the patrons.

"I've already checked them out," Kakashi mumbled. "Let's get this over quick."

"I'd like coffee," Yamato whined.

"Get it somewhere else."

Leaning forward, Kakashi played with a stir stick, tapping it on the formica tabletop. "I have some information for the Fifth."

Yamato leaned closer, running a hand through his unruly brown hair, trying to straighten it. He shifted forward as casually as possible and showed in his eyes that he understood this wasn't just a check-in. "I'll make sure she gets it."

"Tell her they know about my second directive. They don't have specifics, but they are looking. I need to know if I have to remove it or if someone else is coming for the package."

"Got it. I'll have an answer for you later today. Where is the package now?"

Kakashi sighed. The package was walking around her apartment and reading a biology textbook, occasionally smiling out the window and staring up at the sky with a grand lack of focus. He wondered vaguely if her inability to concentrate was his fault.

He hoped that she would never have to find out that any of them really existed in the world except for a smile in a coffee shop on a Wednesday night.

* * *

><p>Returning to his apartment closer to evening, Kakashi sat down in the dark room at the hard chair by the window and peeked in the telescopic lens aimed at her apartment across the way. To his surprise she was in a towel, and her skin was still wet from the shower.<p>

For longer than he should have, he observed her flicking her fingers through the ends of her damp pink hair to get the tangles out, and then she picked up her hair dryer and moved to the full length mirror near her bed to dry it.

Kakashi spun on the chair, thinking he might like to get some food as it had been hours since he last forgot to eat, but found the ability to get up lacking. Instead, feeling somewhat dirty and shamefully interested, he leaned back over the viewer and watched her tend to herself. The dryer blew her pink hair in tufts and waves, and once in a while the towel would loosen and she'd put the dryer down to readjust it.

After it happened three times, Sakura couldn't be bothered anymore and let the towel drop to the floor around her feet.

Kakashi felt his body react immediately as he admired her nubile and lithe body. She held the dryer above her head, running her hands through her hair as she worked at it while stretching as she moved. The perfection of her pale skin, unmarred and tight in every place, was like candy for the eye. Her hard thighs were slender and her breasts were full, round, and just a little heavy for her petite frame - a soft pink nipple stood erect on each.

Kakashi licked his lips without realizing.

She finished with the hairdryer and lifted a leg up onto a chair to do something to her toe. Her long pink hair hung over her face and she bent forward. Kakashi couldn't manage to stop himself from imagining being behind her, making her whisper his name before groaning out her pleasure.

"Damn it," he hissed, disgusted with himself for being weak enough to indulge. It was wrong to invade her privacy.

She was just another woman, he told himself. She was just another job.

After twenty minutes, he looked back through the viewer to make sure she was dressed and to check where she was going when he saw her pull a coat on over her waitress uniform and head out the door.

* * *

><p>Kakashi leaned heavily on the door of a hotel room, smoking and listening to the pleading cries of the man that was zip-tied to a chair in the middle of the room. Diedara, a blond-haired thug from Akatsuki, was on a job to collect some money that the poor bastard had borrowed without ever being able to pay it back. Kakashi hardly ever had to attend to these sorts of mindless beatings, but Madara sent him anyway.<p>

A tickle of warning fluttered into his chest. It had been two days since he gave his message to Yamato. So far, Tsunade didn't want to act rashly and draw attention to Sakura or themselves. It made Kakashi nervous to wait. He hated that she was in danger.

Genma had been put on another assignment tonight as well, effectively separating both former ANBU who traditionally worked as a pair in the heavier sorts of jobs. Genma was traipsing the warehouses at the north end of the city half an hour away with Sasori – Madara's child-like prodigy of destruction.

"Didn't think you had to pay it back, hm? Yes?" Diedara mumbled in the ear of the bruised and broken man in the chair whose heavy stomach shook with his fear as the Akatsuki flicked his ear with a blue painted nail.

Sighing and wandering into the bathroom to stub out his smoke and to splash some water on his face, Kakash felt the vibration of his phone in his inside jacket pocket.

Dull thuds rang from the other room from where Diedara's fist continually connected with the man's cheek.

"Seven," Kakashi mumbled into the mobile, suspecting Madara had another underrated job for him this evening.

"Kakashi," Genma's low voice rumbled from the receiver.

"Yeah," Kakashi answered.

"They know. They had someone on the inside that got to her father. Pein is on his way," Genma growled quietly, obviously trying to pass the information as covertly as possible.

"Fuck," Kakashi spat. "No wonder they separated us. Do what you have to, Genma. She's my priority."

"I understand. You'd better move your ass," Genma added, and then hung up.

Emerging from the bathroom, Kakash went straight for the door, but the springy metallic click of a gun cocking stopped him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Deidara laughed from beside the bleeding man, the gun at the poor guy's temple. "In a hurry, aren't we, hm?"

"Madara wants me back at the warehouse."

"Like hell he does. You just think you're above this sort of thing," the blond snapped, and then he laughed. "Do you want to kill him or should I? I'm getting sort of hungry anyway, yeah."

"But if you kill him, Madara doesn't get any money," Kakashi said matter-of-factly, trying to keep his desperate need to get out under wraps.

"Hrn," Diedara huffed. "Maybe I'll just hit him some more."

"You do that," Kakashi responded quietly. "I'm running back to the warehouse. I'll catch up with you later."

Diedara had already turned his attention back to the victim bleeding on the shag carpet. Kakashi carefully took his time to leave, trying to keep his heart from exploding from the afterthought that the click of the gun was for him and that he was already dead.

* * *

><p>"There's cherry, apple or rhubarb pie tonight. And Temari made muffins and brownies this morning," Sakura said happily to a young couple while scratching their order on the small notepad. She smiled at their hands stretched across the table, laced together romantically. Saturday night was date night, she presumed, though she never had one herself. However, she enjoyed seeing the couples come in for a late coffee after a movie or after a walk in a nearby park.<p>

The night hung behind the windows, and she sighed. Four more days until Wednesday.

What if he didn't come in this week? What if he _never_ came back?

Just then, the bell jingled above the door and Sakura turned to see who had entered while reactively grabbing a couple of the plastic covered menus from an empty table. But her body froze and her eyes widened to see Kakashi saunter in unexpectedly. In all the time he'd been coming in on Wednesdays, he'd never ever deviated from his routine and came in on another day when she was working.

_Don't read too much into it, _she told herself.

His left hand was in his pocket, but his right scratched at his stomach a little, laying just inside his coat. Probably hungry, she thought as she took a couple of steps toward him after getting her bearings and composure.

"Hi," she said, trying to reign in her excitement. "We've got cherry tonight," she laughed sweetly, admiring another of his sleek dark suits which made him look like he stepped out of a magazine. He always looked perfect, from the white shirt and black tie, to the perfectly fitted dark pants.

When he watched her approach, carrying a coffee pot and a menu, his eyes caught hers, then they roved the room quickly. He didn't immediately answer her so she creased her brow.

"Did you want to sit, Kakashi?"

With a slight nod, he seemed to come back to himself and let some tension out of his shoulders. Maybe he hadn't expected her to be working that late on a Saturday? Maybe he didn't really want to see her...?

"Sorry. Long night," he mumbled, finally putting both hands into his pockets and wandering to his favorite corner booth.

Feeling a little nervous, Sakura set the coffee pot down on the table and twisted the frill of her skirt pocket with two fingers. "What can I get you?"

"What time do you finish?" Kakashi ignored her question, his eyes scanning the room again.

"In about twenty minutes," she breathed out, her knees weakening. Was he asking her out? "Uhm...why?" A grin spread across her face.

The overhead bell tinkled again when the door opened and Sakura gave a quick glance over her shoulder to see who it was. She gave them a smile and turned back to Kakashi, who was now locked on the couple now walking up the aisle.

"Sakura. Can you give me a minute," Kakashi said quietly but with a hint of urgency, his eyes still on the man approaching.

With his tone being what it was, she felt a little tense suddenly, like something was inexplicably wrong. Her eyes followed Kakashi's gaze to the red-haired person walking in who was practically covered in piercings. The woman who trailed in with him had blue hair and the most beautiful face like a porcelain doll.

They walked right up to the table, and the redhead looked at Kakashi. "Why am I _not_ surprised to find you here?" he snarled.

The woman wound her arm around Sakura's and tugged her tightly against her side. "You must be Haruno Sakura! You're very cute. Isn't she cute, Pein? Do you think Madara will let me keep her?"

"I-I'm sorry?" Sakura said, carefully trying to extract herself from the woman's hold, but her grip was like steel. "Was there something I can get you?"

"Konan, please keep the girl still," Pein ordered, moving to stand just between Sakura and Kakashi.

"With pleasure," she said softly, leaning close to Sakura and brushing her nose against her throat. "You smell good. Maybe we'll have to share you... I won't let Pein hurt you too much. He likes to get rough."

"Let go of me," Sakura snapped, dropping the menu and twisting a little. Konan's hold tightened, and Sakura pushed an open hand against the woman's shoulder trying to free herself.

"Konan!" Pein spun quickly and growled at his partner.

People around the table shuffled and made comments, and Sakura's boss stepped out from behind the counter.

When Pein turned back to Kakashi, he found himself staring down the barrel of a black gun directed straight at his forehead - not even the slightest quiver to Kakashi's hand. Without making a sound, or them being aware, the silver-haired man had stood up and drawn his gun.

A slick grin grew on Pein's face. "Bravo, Kakashi. I'd underestimated your skills."

A shriek came from the next table, but Kakashi kept his eyes locked on Pein. "Let go of her, Konan. I won't tell you twice." The weapon was still on Pein who raised his hands up, but he seemed unfazed by having the business end of a gun nearly in his eye.

Kakashi had measured who was most dangerous and it was a toss up, but he believed Pein would sacrifice Konan, where she would not do the same.

"You won't get away. All Akatasuki is looking for both of you now," Konan laughed as she finally let go of the waitress and stepped away, her hands up in surrender and a sardonic grin on her face.

"Kakashi._.._" Pein supplicated with a hint of enjoyment. "I'll let you go if you give up the girl. No one wants this to get messy. Go back to ANBU and we'll hunt you later. You can be the one who tells Tsunade we have her granddaughter."

"Back away to the door, Sakura," Kakashi said without taking his eyes off of Pein.

"What the hell is going on here? Who is Tsunade's granddaughter?" Sakura begged angrily, her voice breaking a little as she backed away. From the corner of her eye she could see her boss coming around the booths toward her to see what was happening. The entire restaurant was eerily silent, only a patron's whimper occasionally cutting through the thick atmosphere.

"Get to the door!" Kakashi said forcefully, his eyes flicking to her stunned green ones. Pein and Konan exchanged glances, and Kakashi caught it. "Don't!" he shouted, but it was too late.

Both adversaries moved at once, reaching for their own guns. Kakashi grabbed the coffee pot off the table and swung it at Pein who put an arm up to defect it. The decanter shattered against him, spraying the floor and Pein's face with glittering shards. Narrowly, Kakashi dodged a shot Konan managed to fire that shattered the huge coffee shop window by his favorite booth before he speared her into a table on the other side. With them both incapacitated momentarily, he went straight for the exit.

Someone screamed and people began diving to the floor as Kakashi flew past, grabbing Sakura by the arm and yanking her hard toward the door. The doorbell rang violently and they were finally outside; the deafening crack of a shot decimated another glass window behind them as they ducked and ran.

"What's happening?" Sakura shrieked as her feet stumbled to keep up in her short heels.

"Quiet," Kakashi warned.

Another shot was fired and Sakura felt something flick her hair before a spark shot off the brick wall beside her.

Kakashi halted, spinning to face the pair chasing them up the street. His arm nudged Sakura behind him as his own shot rang out, his arm jerking with the recoil. "Keep running," he shouted, then fired again.

Konan and Pein ducked into an alley.

Sakura took off again, the pepper of gunfire popping like small cannons behind her and echoing off the sides of the buildings. She ran headlong, flipping off her shoes to continue barefoot, her body almost giving out from fear.

More gunfire erupted and this time it sounded like it was getting farther away.

But Sakura kept running and running, passing alleys and closed shop windows, tripping here and there on a rock or some stray piece of garbage too big to kick out of the way until she didn't know where she was anymore.

Slowing finally, her chest tight from exertion and fear and panic, the sound of police sirens began to filter past the blood rushing through her ears. Maybe if she walked toward it, someone would save her. Maybe if she woke up, she would realize that none of this could possibly be happening and she was in her own bed with a text across her stomach where she fell asleep.

Maybe if she ran screaming to them, they could save her.

Taking two undirected steps, she was suddenly halted by someone in the alley that grabbed her and pulled her in. He held her up against the wall by her shoulders, his fingers almost painfully tight.

"Were you hit?" Kakashi asked urgently.

* * *

><p>The next one will take a little time and will perhaps feel a little differently as I have to rebuild it. Hopefully it`ll be up in a few days. As usual, reviews are not necessary.<p> 


	3. The Looking Glass Breaks

Coffee Shop - Chapter 3

The Looking Glass Breaks

* * *

><p>Sakura couldn't move anymore. Her feet were fixed on the hard pavement of the alley, pained and bleeding from her harried bolt down the darkened streets. Kakashi shook her slightly and her only response was to give him more silent tears. She was frightened and stunned by the last confusing fifteen minutes of her life. Worst of all, she was suddenly terrified of the man holding her.<p>

"We have to keep moving," Kakashi said quietly, sweeping an arm tightly about her shoulders and forcefully leading her down the alley.

Sakura felt a distant urge to fight, scream, run away, but blindly she wandered with him to whatever end was coming. She'd given up. In the slow uncontrolled movements of her feet and the unprecedented obedience to this man, she had given up.

Kakashi felt the young waitress shaking almost violently beside him, but he couldn't worry about her delicate psyche now. If Pein caught them, they certainly wouldn't be as lucky as before, however they might be in worse trouble if she went into shock. Even though he really wanted to stop and take care of her, there was just no time. Shock meant nothing when dead.

As they moved awkwardly forward, his bicep throbbed painfully. The blood cooled quickly, making the jacket feel tight and heavy around his arm. How long had it been since a bullet caught him? Each time it happened, he realized that he had forgotten the searing, burning pain that radiated through the wound like being stuck with hot slag.

Sakura's bare feet tripped again and she whimpered as he struggled to hold her up with one arm. By her lolling head and disjointed movements, he could tell she was inches away from passing out. Mercifully everything had occurred around where she worked and they both resided so the distance to a place to hole up in was short.

They trekked quickly down two streets and slipped into a rear alley on the other side of block that housed the coffee shop. The little used rear door to Kakashi's apartment building came into view down a small narrow alley, and to his great relief, it seemed their enemies had not discovered it. Kakashi had always been careful not to let anyone in Akatsuki find out where he lived, and could never understand how others would hold meetings and have cohorts over to their residences. Eventually it always turned bad and someone got killed. He'd always lived with the policy of 'don't shit where you eat' and up to now it had never failed him.

Sliding aside the rusty panel that looked like nothing out of the ordinary against the graffiti-riddled brick, Kakashi revealed the security system underneath which glowed a turquoise hue against the wall opposite. He pressed his thumb to the scan pad and then punched in his seven digit code. The vault-like latch clanged noisily and the large, handleless iron door opened just an inch with a squealing creak of its hinges.

Sakura looked up at the door and then at Kakashi. Her eyes were wide, mouth agape as she shook her head.

"What other choice do you have?" he rumbled impatiently, pushing the door open and sweeping her inside with his good arm. Without even waiting to see her reaction, he began to climb the old cement stairs, using what was left of his strength to tug her upwards after him. It seemed all her protests were over as she tripped along wordlessly.

Another door awaited them at the top of the three flights of gray walls and Kakashi flew through the numbers on the keypad without even looking back at her. Once inside, he led her roughly to a chair, plunked her down and then turned back into the open kitchen area.

The young med student collapsed back into the thick, soft leather chair in the lightless room, shivering and nauseated. From what she could see, the walls were brick and had long windows like hers, but it was hard to make out anything against the lack of lighting, not to mention the difficulty she having with actually focusing. But by feel and smell, it was a smoker's apartment and the carpet was plush under her aching feet. The chair she was thrown into was worn-in and smooth, and had enough give to make her feel like she'd sunk down. Passing out there from the intense fear would be better than an alleyway any day.

Purposely, she worked to slow her breathing, trying so hard to stay lucid.

Kakashi suddenly reappeared in front of her, jolting Sakura from her brief attempt to acclimate; he had a glass of something in his hand and he crouched down in front of her chair and leaned forward. Sakura reactively turned her head away, painfully aware that small flecks of light were beginning to dance in her periphery.

"Drink it," Kakashi commanded, bringing the glass to her lips and slipping a firm hand around the back of her neck. He tipped it up until the strong alcohol met her lips.

Reluctantly, Sakura took a gulp and then hissed and sputtered as the burn of the whiskey seared down her throat.

"More," Kakashi urged, holding the glass up against her mouth.

Sakura coughed and pressed her lips together while trying to get her fingers around the glass, but her hand was shaking so profusely that she only succeeded in spilling the whiskey on her uniform. Inevitably, some managed to get down her throat, flaming through her like liquid fire.

When the glass was empty after a few uncomfortable gulps, Kakashi stood up from his crouch, though quite slowly, and returned to the kitchen. The clink of glass on glass telegraphed what he was doing.

"I don't want anymore," Sakura ground out, finally finding her voice and a bit of courage.

"It'll calm you down," he said heavily, and then walked back in less of a rush than before. This time, his long fingers held out the full glass by the rim until she gingerly wrapped her fingers around the bottom. Grunting and pausing, Kakashi jerked off his jacket and let it slide down his bloodied arm before tossing it to the arm of the chair next to where she sat. The blood had seeped past his elbow and across the chest of his crisp white shirt in an odd circular pattern.

"Now..." Kakashi placed a hand on one of her knees, noticing she was shaking a little less, though was still pale. "Are you injured?"

"N…no," she said quietly, her answer muffled by the rim of the glass, her eyes darting from his wound to his eyes and back again. "What's happened? Why were those people shooting at me?"

Kakashi ran a tense hand through his hair. "They weren't shooting at you. They were shooting at me."

"Why?" she whimpered, fighting to stay composed while he motioned for her to drink again with a lift of his hand. This time she didn't argue.

Silently, Kakashi watched the young waitress put her soft pink lips to the crystal rim, gingerly taking tiny sips of the golden liquid. The tremble of her hand shook the whiskey, making it gleam as it caught a hint of the dull streetlight outside. It was hard to watch her like this. She'd been this ideal of the nice girl a nice boy would marry and have nice children with. She'd be the doctor who the kids loved and the parents trusted. She'd be the person who worked the hardest without wanting something in return, and the one everyone would aspire to be. Her life was on the fast-track to perfection until she met him.

It pained him slightly to show her that her world was a little darker and dirtier than she'd ever known. And it made him feel worse that she'd finally know what sort of person he was. He liked the way she looked at him, like he was something to desire for all the things he wasn't and should have been.

With a sigh, he slumped back to sit on the floor at her feet, drooping his arms over his knees. "How much do you know about your mother's past?"

"My…mother?" Sakura's eyes went up to the right as she began to relive special memories and moments she'd tucked away. "She died when I was about six. Wh…why?"

"But how much did you know about her?"

"She was…just a mother." Sakura scrunched her brow as she took another sip, and then set the empty glass down on the small wooden table next to the chair.

Kakashi could see that the alcohol was doing its job; her trembling had slowed and her wide eyes had relaxed back to distrust. Composing himself and trying to ignore the numbness and throbbing that was reaching the fingers of his left arm, he prepared himself to shatter her peaceful world.

"Your mother's mother…her name is Senju Tsunade. When your mother died, your father left with you to live as far away from Tsunade as she could. He didn't agree with her… occupation." Kakashi felt his head getting light so he leaned back and rubbed his eyes. His heart was speeding up; it was a bad sign.

"What occupation?" Sakura mumbled, but had enough of an idea about it to not need to hear the answer.

"Tsunade is the head of an organization called ANBU. I'm a higher level agent in that company and since you moved to the city and started school, one of my primary directives has been your safety." Kakashi felt his eyes getting heavy and some pain shooting through his shoulder. Nausea swirled in his stomach and his chest felt tight. The weakness in his limbs became a little too much to handle. "I'm sorry, Sakura…but I might have to…"

"I still don't understand what this really has to do…" Sakura looked up from the hands wringing in her lap just in time to see Kakashi tip backwards, his head hitting the soft white carpet with a thud. Stunned, she just stared at him lying there, vulnerable and bleeding. Complete clarity rushed upon her with the sudden silence filling the room and she found that the moment to run had come. Easing from the chair in case he woke, she stood up and after taking a few steps away, she finally darted to the door. Her fingers wrapped around the cold metal handle while her other hand clamped onto the thick lock that had automatically locked them in. She tightened her grip and glanced quickly back at Kakashi, lying immobile, his eyes closed to the world.

Maybe it was the alcohol or the fear, or maybe it was that fact that she didn't know where to go after she stepped out of that door, but Sakura found her hands just wouldn't turn the lock. If she ran out now, those people would return. Before Kakashi fainted, he was going to tell her what was happening and why they wanted her – which she could deduce had something to do with this mysterious ANBU and her previously non-existent grandmother.

But truthfully, in the end, the medical student in her couldn't leave him there to die or to wake up too weak to help himself. He'd taken a bullet in the arm to protect her. Perhaps that earned him at least the chance to explain.

* * *

><p>With heated throbbing pain throughout, Kakashi awoke to find himself still on the carpet. When he cracked one eye, he was surprised to see the girl with green eyes hovering above him and to feel the weight of a blanket on his body. The floor felt cold against his aching back, and really, the blanket hadn't helped to warm his limbs in the least. He hadn't imagined that he'd lost too much blood, but what sort of judge could an injured man be?<p>

"I couldn't move you. Sorry. You'd started bleeding again. It looks like your white carpet is ruined," Sakura said softly, but her voice held a kind of scolding that made Kakashi desire to laugh for all the wrong reasons. The scent of whiskey drifted from her words and prompted a slight smirk from him. She must have had another glass while he was out, and really, who could blame her for it.

"I thought you would have run," he mumbled, bringing his right hand to his eyes and rubbing them open properly.

"I was at the door. My hand was on the latch…" she said evenly but her focus remained on his arm while she tended to it with whatever she had been able to find around the apartment. When he turned his head, Kakashi could see the old dull scissors lying beside him which he would use to cut open the coffee pouches, and the blue striped tea towel that normally hung on the oven door was placed over his shoulder.

"What made you stay?" He worked to try and sit up.

Sakura sat back on her knees and sighed, slipping a warm hand around his back to aid him to rise. "Where can I go? They knew my name, didn't they? It's me they want."

Locking his gaze with hers and seeing her mild distress in the low light of the streetlamps outside, he begrudgingly agreed, "Yes. It's you they want."

"We should get you to the hospital. The bullet is still in your arm." The med student pushed herself up to stand and Kakashi spied the bowl of warm water in her hands. His shirt had been cut up the arm and hung loose and open around his bicep. A ripped piece of cotton, most likely from his shirt, was tied around the wound to help stop the bleeding.

"I have a medical kit in the bathroom. It's fine. I'll deal with it." Kakashi managed to roll to his hands and knees before standing up to weakly trudge to the kitchen. Sakura was already there and gave him a stern look as he reached for another glass. He poured the whiskey to the rim. The scent was strong; the amber liquid sloshed out so quickly he spilled some over his hand clamped around the crystal like a vice.

"That's not going to help you," Sakura chided. "It'll just make you bleed faster."

"Would that be a bad thing?" he mumbled darkly. In three gulps, he tore down the entire glass, enjoying the burn along his throat and the warmth spreading to his stomach. It wouldn't be long before his limbs would ache less and he'd be more relaxed. The strong redolence alone made him want another. But instead of pouring more, he wandered over to his the bloodied jacket tossed over the chair and pulled out a cigarette from the package in the pocket. With a flick of his silver zippo and Kakashi lit the cigarette and sat down on the arm of the chair.

He felt like shit. He'd had two day hangovers that felt better. As he took another drag, the sweet scent of tobacco filled the room with drifting, lazy streams of smoke. He closed his eyes and inhaled it deeply, letting it invade and poison his lungs in the most titillating way.

"Why don't you have any lights?" Sakura asked through clenched teeth, upset that he hadn't even bothered with any of the medical cautions she'd given him. The man was on a slow spiral to death.

"Give me a few minutes, then I'll answer your questions," he mumbled, returning to the counter to pour another full glass of whiskey and gulp it down. The lit cigarette was still in his fingers and Sakura waved the blue smoke away from her face.

Kakashi glanced sideways at the angry looking young waitress and sighed. "Just let me take care of my arm. If I get an infection, we'll both be in trouble."

Obviously _that _she could understand as her brow unstitched and she looked away from him with a huff.

Happy for the lack of protest, Kakashi managed to appear in control of his faculties when he walked to his bathroom and flicked on the only light in the entire apartment. He'd explain later that because he'd had her under surveillance, turning on a light would have given her a clear view of the apartment. He'd save that discussion for when he got another drink in them both.

Sakura was right behind him and she leaned on the bathroom doorframe to watch him pull a black lacquered box out of a bottom drawer of the walnut vanity. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest; her growing anger still warned of in the narrowing of her pretty green eyes.

Kakashi dropped the medical kit on the chipped ceramic counter and tried to lift both hands to work at his buttons. But when a bolt of pain shot along his shoulder and chest, he emitted a low hiss. The injury was going to be a burden. What unfortunate timing.

"Let me," Sakura mumbled, finding the med student overtaking the frightened waitress for a moment. She slipped into the tiny bathroom and finding no argument from the patient at all, steered him to sit down on the edge of the bathtub. Smoke still drifted lazily from the cigarette dangling from his lips and a corner of his mouth rose as she reached for his shirt.

Sakura bent down and worked at his buttons, one by one, starting at the top and making her way down. She'd actually had to tug the edge of his shirt out of his pants to get to the last button, and that small fact made her blush lightly.

It certainly wasn't the first time a woman had removed Kakashi's clothes, but it was probably the first time one blushed as she did it – another testament to her innocence. Kakashi felt dirty as he admired that perfect pucker in her uniform at her bra-line. He smiled a little around his cigarette as her hands worked their way inside the cotton along his skin. Seeing her messy pink hair and that tease of skin brought those few intense moments in the broom closet back. She'd never think of him like that again…

After sliding the shirt from his body, and having a quick look at what was underneath from the toned chest to the tight abdomen, Sakura turned back to the medical kit and took a few deep breaths. If she was going to be a doctor, she'd certainly have to avoid getting worked up about disrobing someone; but she supposed he was different than a regular patient. She'd been overwhelmed by her attraction to him from minute one so the intimate circumstances they were in now was naturally difficult.

With a snap, the kit opened and she clenched her jaw in shock to see that it wasn't just band-aids and gauze, but an array of medical supplies from sutures to morphine to a few pieces of sterile instruments. Obviously these_ types_ had to be prepared for the odd bullet…

Grabbing gloves, and a small suture kit as well as a sterile wrap containing large tweezers, Sakura turned and looked at Kakashi with trepidation. "Did you want something for the pain? We'll have to remove the bullet, clean the wound and suture it," she stated professionally.

"Had whiskey. Let's just get it over with," he answered calmly, stubbing out his cigarette on the bathtub edge.

Sakura approached, unwrapped the makeshift bandage from his arm and began by looking the wound over. "Okay, so tell me more. I'm taking a bullet out of your arm and we've been shot at tonight so I guess you could say its time for the whole story," she mumbled, leaning forward to have a good look at the wound.

"Fair enough," Kakashi strained through tight teeth as she pressed on an extra sore spot during her preliminary examination. He growled softly.

"Sorry," she said quietly.

"I told you about Tsunade. Well, your father's place was actually given to him and you when he wanted to leave the city. But even though your father wanted to stay away from that life, he benefited from it. Some of your medical school funds, I'm sure, are courtesy of your grandmother, as is your apartment."

"I want to know who those people were in the coffee shop." Sakura raised her brows at him. "Last chance for morphine."

Kakashi waved her off. "Those two were a high level equivalent in Akatsuki – a rival operation. They're up and comers, but never had the grasp or morality of ANBU. I've been working undercover in their ranks since you were twenty and it just so happened that their operation kept me central to keeping an eye on you. …ahhh fuck me…" he growled.

"Sorry," she mumbled insincerely, focusing instead on a malformed bullet in the large tweezers.

Kakashi took it and pinched it between his fingers to examine it closely. "Konan," he laughed as he scrutinized the crumpled metal. It explained why he still had his arm as she liked the smaller calibre weapon – fit so much nicer under her skirt.

"Why does all this involve me? What can I possibly do to aid anyone in this mess?" she sighed.

"Tsunade is a powerful woman, and she got that way by being careful. Family is like a picking ground for new talent. Tsunade likes to see potential in the lineage and if one shows some, they are recruited at a young age. It is an honour among the families. This is how the trust is built over years and years of people and their children working closely together. Family and bloodlines are everything."

"That sounds barbaric to me," Sakura scoffed. "Recruiting from children? You'd think parents wouldn't want their children anywhere near that life."

Kakashi would have liked to agree with that, but he remembered his own father's face and the turn in their relationship when Kakashi realized that his life was no longer his own. They all knew there was no getting away from it. Kakashi supposed it was a good thing that he had an aptitude and intellect for that kind of work. Had he not, he'd probably be six feet under by now.

"You're leverage for them. They want to control Tsunade and ANBU and you would make a valuable hostage."

"I'd be a valuable hostage against a woman I've never met, in a world of people I don't know. This is fucked up, you know that."

Kakashi couldn't help but agree.

Sakura silently cleaned the wound, which earned a small grunt from Kakashi, and then she went about suturing it. He sat and continued to talk, unflinchingly, as she pierced his skin over and over again to make the stitches. His eyes stayed on the door behind Sakura except when he'd glance down at the cigarette crumpled on the side of the tub. Lastly, she applied a sterile gauze to the wound and then wrapped a piece of bandage around his bicep to hold the gauze still.

"I'm worried about infection," she said offhandedly.

"Worry about it tomorrow," he scoffed.

When the medical treatment was completely, and he had all but told her his inseam measurement, she turned to leave the bathroom. Kakashi was up and following her when she spun in the doorway to face him.

"Feeling okay?" she asked, cocking her head.

"Yeah, feel fine," he answered evenly.

"Good."

Her closed fist suddenly flew around and caught him hard across the chin, wrenching his jaw painfully. Kakashi's head snapped sideways with the impact, and his eyes turned back to look at her.

"That's for the spy stuff out there aimed at my apartment," she growled, and then stormed away.

The hit probably should have made Kakashi mad, but as he rubbed the sore spot on his jaw, the long smile crept across his face. He mused that he needed a cigarette after that. It was a good hard hit, and it was nice to see she was finding some tenacity. She was going to need it.

He emerged from the bathroom and wandered into the bedroom to grab another white shirt and a clean tie out of the closet there. He slipped on the shirt but didn't bother to button it up yet, hanging the tie around the open collar. The throb in his shoulder became more pronounced whenever he lifted his arm so he did everything right handed for the moment.

When he came back out to the living room, he found Sakura staring out across the dark roof between her apartment and his. She was shivering.

"Are you cold?"

"I'm frightened. I don't know what to do," she whispered back, doing a double take at his open shirt.

Kakashi joined her at the window and they both stared out at the half-lit apartment clearly visible across the way. Sakura could see everything from the coffee pot on the counter, to the book she left on the futon, to the place where she dried her hair naked a few days before.

She reddened and rubbed a finger against her temple.

"We'll sit tight. They're sending someone to get you in twenty-four hours give or take, so we just need to avoid trouble until then. No one knows where this apartment is so we should be fine to wait here."

"I need another drink…" she mumbled, closing her eyes. When she looked back at him, he was still gazing out the window, hands shoved casually in his pockets and that lazy nonchalant look he always wore. The few moments in the broom closet came back to her and she felt a pang of desire for him, but not enough to even dwell on it as so many other things were keeping her mind occupied. "Come here," she exhaled.

Kakashi's brows raised and he turned a little to find her fingers reaching up to fasten a button at his chest. A sly grin widened across his face but he managed to stifle when she looked up at him. He sort of liked having a woman dress him again which was indeed a first.

She finished hurriedly and then turned back to the window, sighing sadly and crossing her arms protectively over her chest.

"Can you tie a tie?" Kakashi asked absently, working clumsily at it himself.

Her previous mention of a drink made his throat dry so forgetting the tie for the moment, he turned and walked back to the open bottle of whiskey on the counter and grabbed the dirty glasses she must have put there. He poured out the golden liquid and drank half a glass before refilling it to take over to her.

"Um…Kakashi…my…door is opening…" she exclaimed with a hint of panic.

Kakashi turned to see more lights flick on in the apartment across the way and figures enter. Sakura's fingers were pressed up against the glass and she was breathing faster.

"Damn it," he growled. "That was fast."

* * *

><p>"I'm sure I hit him," Konan laughed sweetly as she hoisting herself up on the waitress' small countertop, shoving a scented candle out of her way roughly. It clanged into the coffee tin on the counter. "Didn't you see his shoulder jerk?" Her eyes roved the painted tin ceiling as she recalled the moment with happiness.<p>

Pein glanced sideways at her before shutting the door and letting his pale eyes rove the meagre sized apartment. It was small but quaint, and he was impressed that she could find something like this in that part of town. Of course, her grandmother was the infamous Senju Tsunade, Head of ANBU. The old woman probably purchased the block to keep her under wraps.

Scanning all the ubiquitous student type odds and ends, he took in the rumpled blankets of the small bed, and the pink pillow case half on the edge. Magazines sat in a neat stack on a shelf next to paperback classics and some medical texts. A delicate figurine of a ballet dancer stood on the brick windowsill and her small couch had a threadbare arm, fraying and covered amateurishly with a throw cushion.

He still smarted from letting the man get out of his grasp. Ever since Madara had recruited the assassin known as the scarecrow, Pein had long suspected the former ANBU's motives. He felt some righteousness in knowing his keen instincts were the correct ones. One day he would take over for Madara and would do a hell of a better job running Akatsuki.

And the first thing he'd do would be to decimate ANBU, starting with the s-level ranks. Genma would be his second target after Kakashi.

"She's pretty damn neat," Konan laughed, picking through the tiny wooden jewelery box on a small table near the window. "Pretty," she added, pulling out a silver brooch made of tiny intricate leaves, and pinned it to the collar of her black double-breasted coat.

"We aren't thieves, Konan. Just look for clues and then let's go. This is a waste of time anyway," Pein mumbled roughly. "The Scarecrow has her now so we should be looking for him."

"How long do you think she's lived here?" Konan ruminated as she walked back to the kitchen counter and rummaged in the metal tins on the counter, smelling the coffee beans in one and taking a ginger snap from another.

"I think they said since she moved here about two years ago," Pein relayed absently, wandering to the windows.

"Isn't that about the same time the scarecrow showed up?" she added cheekily, then took a bite of the small cookie.

Pein's eyes turned to her and narrowed as she winked her smugness. Obviously the wheels were turning and Konan smirked arrogantly because she'd figured it out before him.

"Where would he watch her from?" Pein mumbled to himself, turning back to the windows and staring across to the dark apartment one building over. Moving closer to the window, he gazed out into the night, scanning the foreign windows for shadows or figures.

Then he reached into his jacket and closed his hand on the butt of his gun.

* * *

><p>"Shit, let's move," Kakashi growled, grabbing Sakura's arm and tugging her toward the door. He paused just long enough to snap up his jacket in the process. Thank goodness he never took his shoes off…<p>

"I thought they couldn't see…." Sakura began, but the sound of something bursting through the window with loud cracks and then thudding against the ceramic tile wall in the kitchen had them ducking. Sakura let out a shriek of surprise. The glass shattered and the hiss of the night air whistling through the gaping hole was all they could hear.

Kakashi bolted through the door, dragging Sakura behind him with a hand clamped to her wrist. It was no time to worry if she was going to trip. If they didn't get out of the building they were dead; he couldn't let them slow down even for a second. Both their lives were riding on his ability to get keep up with the pressure.

Charging down the cement steps to the bottom floor, Kakashi worked out the best way to get her away. So instead of taking the door they'd come in at, he pulled Sakura around under the stairs and through another door.

"Where are we going?" she called out as the door snapped shut behind her.

When his fingers left her wrist, she found herself standing in a pitch dark room that echoed with his hasty footsteps. "Kakashi?" she shouted, hearing her voice echo off high ceilings and faraway walls. The tap of his feet told her he was running and she was amazed that he could navigate in pitch dark. A feeling of panic swept over her as he seemed to get farther and farther away.

"Kakashi!"

A loud metallic thunk bounced off the walls and Sakura's wide shocked eyes looked over at Kakashi who had flipped a red industrial size switch on a pillar connected to a thick grey box. Bright hanging lights, like the kind in arenas with metal cages over them, hummed and flickered on and a blast of an overbright fluorescent white glow filled the space.

Taking in the surroundings, Sakura's gaze shifted quickly to see a number of vehicles in a row along the far wall. They made the space look like the sort of underground parking garage with the dull grey cement walls and the pillars every few feet. Two cars, a jeep and two motorcycles gleamed like new under the ugly lights.

"What the…?" she half laughed, feeling the hysterics creeping up on her.

Kakashi stood for a moment staring at the vehicles as he pulled his jacket on, and then turned his eye to Sakura who blanched. The sports car would be good, but traffic might slow them down. The jeep was impractical and the BMW would have the same problem with traffic. There was only one choice he could make, but he wasn't sure if she was going to do all right with it. She already looked like she was on the edge of absolute panic.

Feeling the seconds pressing on him, he moved to the large, black Kawasaki Ninja and grabbed the black helmet from the seat. "Ever ridden?" he asked quickly, holding the helmet out to her. The lights sloped over its shiny black surface like racing stripes.

"No!" she half whimpered, half shouted, stitching her brow and putting her hands up. Her head was shaking before she even realized.

"I'm sorry, Sakura, but this is no time to be timid," Kakashi demanded, darting to her and roughly pulling her over to the bike. "Lean into the turns and hold tight."

Just as he held the helmet up though, a loud thump hit his outside door. "Incendiaries. Those two weren't alone," he breathed out. "No more arguing." Forcefully helping her to slip on the helmet over her long pink hair, Kakashi tied it with agile fingers before hopping on the bike and pointing to the foot rungs at the back.

Shaking, Sakura swung her leg over, instantly feeling the cold seat between her bare legs and the weight of the dark helmet which made her want to tip her head forward. She understood from the first moment she touched the bike that wearing a short tight waitress uniform was going to be a hinderance. Sitting on the skirt, she slid forward and placed her hands on the waist of the virtual stranger trying to save her life.

The noisy scream of the engine filled the garage as he revved it, the sound bouncing off the blank walls, echoing its noisy voice. Sakura hastily wrapped her arms around Kakashi's middle and clung on for dear life. The power underneath her frightened her as it rumbled and shook between her legs. As soon as it started to move, she closed her eyes and whimpered into the facemask, grateful he couldn't hear her.

With a spin of the tires, they did a 180 and Kakashi drove the noisy bike the length of the large building faster than Sakura ever wanted to go in her young life. Kakashi raised his hand at a sensor as they passed one of the many cement pillars, and just like that, a large door at the far end began to open to reveal the dark street looming beyond.

But if the fear of falling from the speeding bike wasn't enough, the sound of gunshots firing in the large room made her cling tighter, screaming into the face guard of the heavy helmet. She opened her eyes to see Pein and Konan flying in through a door behind them and two other men she didn't recognize coming in from the open garage door.

When they blew out of the door, the tires screeching along the road, Sakura twisted her fingers in Kakashi's shirt and clenched her jaw. It wouldn't be until later that she worried she had been digging her nails in his stomach. But if it hurt him, he never indicated.

The smooth flow of the streets rushing past them was enough to nauseate Sakura as she glanced up from where the middle of the helmet lay between his shoulder blades. He hadn't tried to shrug her off or move her from where she clung to his body and she was so grateful for it. The road slid underneath them like a hard conveyor belt and she closed her eyes again. Every time Kakashi would shift gears as cars and streetlamps flew by, she bumped against him. Her bare feet felt vulnerable next to the spinning tires and the hot mufflers.

They travelled for a while down streets, twisting and turning through alleys and back roads, until she found they were on the highway, cruising along at top speed. Feeling it a little safer, Sakura lifted her head, but scooted forward to press her body tightly to the back of Kakashi's, squeezing her inner thighs against him. He looked back quickly and his white blond hair blew around violently.

He was wearing some dark glasses and she was thankful that the morning light was beginning to come up or she was sure he'd crash from being unable to see. They must have been in his jacket, she thought absently, unless his superpower was producing shades at will…

For maybe an hour they rode along, crossing bridges, cutting through back roads, and passing places she'd never seen before.

They entered the far end of the city and Kakashi felt safer knowing he'd put some good distance between them and the Akatsuki operatives for now. Perhaps they'd get the night out of their next destination before they were hunted down, but he had to get them somewhere quiet and safe. His arm throbbed and his head felt heavy; his tired eyes wished to drop closed. If he didn't get some rest, he wouldn't function anymore and that meant certain death.

They turned another street and slipped through an alley next to a four story brick building surrounded by a low wrought iron fence.

When the bike slowed to a stop, Kakashi sat up and kicked down the stand, but felt her arms still clenched tightly around him. Gently, he placed his hand over hers, squeezing her fingers to reassure her. She was still shaking, trembling against his back, her arms tightly wound around his sides as if she was frightened he would let her die. He hadn't made her understand yet, but he would give his life to keep her safe.

"Let's get inside," he said softly.

Sakura sat back, and with trembling fingers, she worked at the strap under the helmet. Kakashi got up and looked at her, immediately noticing right away that she was still shaking too much to unlatch it, so he pulled her hands gently away and worked the strap open quickly, aiding her in lifting the helmet from her head.

The relief from the weight was instant. "Where are we?" she whispered into the dull early morning, the light tone of her voice raspy and tired.

"My place," Kakashi added evenly and then looked up to the large half-moon windows at the top of the three-story building.

* * *

><p>So, that's chapter 3 reposted and chapter 4 will be on it's heels.<p>

Thanks for being patient. Leafy.


	4. Rest

Coffee Shop

Chapter 4 - Rest

* * *

><p>Kakashi couldn't remember a woman ever being on the back of his motorcycle, nails digging into his chest as he weaved through the streets. Normally, he'd use the BMW when taking women anywhere. On the satisfying Wednesday nights he found himself straying into the Coffee Shop amid the scent of cinnamon and warm coffee, he'd never even remotely imagined the young waitress (and Tsunade's granddaughter) would ever be on it either.<p>

"I don't understand," Sakura managed, her tired green eyes scanning the dark brick and the stunning half-moon windows that encircled the top floor of the building. "I thought we just left your place?"

The birds were making riotous noise above, and the air was crisp and clean. Cars revved and moved around the streets, beginning the day's business endeavors. No people yelled, no buses screeched their brakes, and no L train broke the dawn.

Tightening his smile so Kakashi didn't earn himself another punch in the mouth, he replied calmly, "That's the place I watch you. This apartment is mine."

Sakura's brow twitched tighter momentarily, and then her gaze rose again to traverse Kakashi's building before taking in all the other buildings nearby. Her pretty mouth opened just a little in awe.

Kakashi imagined a struggling medical student wouldn't frequent the uptown business district. The buildings were perfectly neat and all proud without anything falling off or rusting. The streets were embarrassingly clean, and money flowed like a river of opportunity tinted oftentimes with corruption – though it was packaged much nicer there. Men in business suits and women in their heels with black portfolios would fly along the streets at a whirlwind pace. Kakashi never found himself envying that crowd as his disposition was much too much on the calm and lazy side of the spectrum. An office job might very well kill him had he needed to be chained to the desk day in and day out.

Of course, his current occupation had a better chance of killing him so it was a slow death or a quick one at that. Realistically, if he had to choose, a quick death was more appealing to the humdrum world of papercuts and laptops.

Inhaling the clean air, Kakashi rubbed at his sore shoulder, his weak fingers straining at the throbbing, nagging pain. The ride had been hard, especially with the effort to squeeze the clutch. Shoots of pain from the hot area below the bloodied hole in his jacket sleeve worried him that she was right to be wary of infection. But there was no time to be concerned about trivial matters like that. It could wait. It could always wait.

"Let's get you inside. Its cold this morning," he said absently, glancing around the street and then letting his dark eyes trace the intricate wrought iron fence that guarded the building. His late father, Sakumo, had commissioned a local artist to design that fence. Each time Kakashi drove up to it now on his motorcycle, he would recall the days when an eccentric young iron worker would come and painstakingly slave on it until it was perfect. As a child, unaware of its value, Kakashi would tap his cricket bat along it to enjoy the hollow clacks it made.

Sakura breathed out, working at swinging her shaking leg over the seat to feel the hard cement beneath her unsure toes. Her hands strained down the ruined blue dress, all blood spattered and torn in two places. And just to add insult to injury, somewhere along the way she'd had a button pop off just below her bra-line. Had she not been beside herself with fatigue and with pain and with fear, she might have cursed once or twice. As it stood now, she could barely see straight so indignation would have to wait.

Kakashi grabbed up the helmet from where she had set it on the smooth black seat and tipped his chin to indicate that she should follow.

Sakura hobbled on her sore feet as she tagged along behind him toward an intricate stained-glass entryway. To the right, fat silver letters on the wall read four hundred and sixteen. The dark brick ran up the building in perfectly straight, unmarred lines, nestling around the large art-deco style windows that gleamed with the coming morning light. No fire escapes clawed at the edge of the building and she was curious to see where such an elegant front entrance could lead to. Perhaps he owned two or three of those beautiful windows overlooking the city or even the river.

Yet another keypad greeted them and Kakashi punched in a series of numbers so quickly, Sakura hardly saw his fingers move. A hum and a snap seemed to shake the thick etched glass door and Kakashi quickly pulled it open and held it for her.

Once inside though, Sakura was way out of her element with the posh surroundings that lead the eye to the oak-panelled elevator doors at the other end. Cream-coloured walls ran the expanse of the hallway, and art hung every few feet with lacquered wood frames and small silver plates with artist name, painting name and the year printed in elegant script below.

Kakashi's shoes tapped softly on the marble floor and it was the only sound she could hear apart from the soft breath of the air conditioning. He'd jammed a hand back in his pocket while dangling the helmet with the other, and Sakura noted he looked at ease with everything as he sauntered along, even after almost taking another bullet or two in the last few hours.

How could he be so desensitized to it all? Maybe it was the same way that blood and guts didn't bother a med student like her? Maybe he was so used to the violence and danger that he could put it away as if it were a thing he could stuff in a pocket and pull out when needed. What had his life been like? In a world of guns and killing and fast cars and danger, how could someone look so nonchalant, be so unfazed by the violence?

Her mouth hung open as she marvelled at him.

Kakashi pressed the glowing button beside the elevator and turned around to watch her make the last three steps to join him in front of the doors. When they opened, he ushered her in with a gentle hand on her arm and pressed the top button on the panel.

Mirrors surrounded them and Sakura closed her eyes and leaned against one, balancing an elbow on the wooden hand rail that framed the entire inside. The idea that she'd stepped into another dimension played with her sense of normalcy, and she lacked the heart to look fully at herself. From the corner of her eye, she could see the tattered blue uniform draped on her slack body. Like a ragdoll she stood there with her bleeding bare feet and her messy hair. But Kakashi looked like the picture of casual indifference. His hair always looked slightly mussed and stylish, so the excitement had done nothing to it he couldn't have done with a hand. His tie was loose, and his shirt was unbuttoned by two, but he looked mostly normal – that is, except for the dried blood down his jacket.

So far, everything from the sidewalk and wrought iron, to the perfect marble floor inside the elevator had been surreal, but when the lift doors opened with a metallic breath onto the room at the top of the three-story building, she couldn't stop herself from whispering, "Wow."

A large suite that had to be as big as the cafeteria at the university spread far out like an elegant warehouse filled with perfect furniture. High ceilings scoped the entirety of the giant room, and soft glowing pot-lights began to turn on in sections by nothing that she or Kakashi had done except to just walk into the room.

Kakashi urged her in gently, and she broke out of her staggering awe to enjoy the tingle that his warm, strong hand left on the small of her back. She glanced up at him, and he smiled – but not happily.

A soft wood floor stretched out under her feet and she sighed a little because even pained, her toes could appreciate the buttery smoothness beneath them. And while she stood there taking in the one red-brown brick wall filled with those half-circle windows and the large, soft, brown leather furniture and accents, Kakashi was playing with a high-tech touch screen next to the elevator doors on the wall. It made small noises as his long fingers tapped on it.

The kitchen was at one end of the apartment, all dark wood cupboards, silver handles and shiny black granite countertops. A long island separated the living area from the kitchen area with backless stools. Two sets of double doors stood at the opposite end, same wood as the elevator, shut for now, and provoking a small bit of curiosity.

The luxurious brown leather couch was calling to her to come and lie down, and she took a few steps toward it while anticipating how good it would feel to sink into the plush cushions. The furniture was set up so that if she sat there, she could look out onto the skyline of the city with the glimmering river beyond it.

"Are you hungry or just tired?" Kakashi queried as he slid the wood panel back over his security system to see the dishevelled waitress stumbling toward his living area.

She looked drained and broken, he thought. It was his job to keep her safe, and now she looked like she'd been through a war zone and back in bare feet.

"I'm everything," Sakura mumbled, her weary eyes conveying how hard she was trying to keep it together. Her hands were visibly shaking still.

Kakashi took off his shoes and trailed over, placing his hands lightly on her shoulders. "Why don't you get cleaned up and I'll get some food."

Sakura closed her eyes and shivered in his strong hands. His voice was so gentle and relaxing. The deep tone of it reminded her of when she'd lain awake in bed for hours imagining him speaking to her that same night they'd slid into that small dark closet. His touch was still so easy to remember, making recall her desire. God, how she needed some comfort.

Almost half that night, she'd imagined him doing things to her, saying soft words in her ear and making love to her better than anyone ever had. She'd had r-rated dreams of him for two nights after. How everything shifted to what it was now seemed almost ridiculous. In all her imagination about what it would be like to be with him, she never even fathomed that he would be a man who would save her life...twice.

That erotic moment in the broom closet seemed a lifetime ago.

With no resistance, Kakashi steered Sakura toward the large oak double doors at the back, opening one to lead her through into a dark room. The lights flicked on and Sakura gazed upon a large bedroom, complete with a king-sized bed which was covered in the most enticingly soft chocolate duvet she'd ever had the imagination to conjure. It appeared as though if she were to lie down on it, she might sink right in.

A sleek mahogany cabinet, floor to ceiling, was built into the cream-coloured beyond the foot of the bed. A plush looking brown chair big enough for two sat at the other end of the room near a large bookshelf. There were no windows in the bedroom at all.

Taking her by the wrist, Kakashi continued on to another set of doors at the far end which opened up on a ridiculously huge bathroom with a glass walk-in shower, a long black marble vanity and a giant soaker tub. The tub itself was purposely perched under one of those huge round windows.

"Am I dead?" she mumbled, turning her wide green eyes up to his.

"It's a bit grotesque," he scoffed, "but it'll do."

"It's unbelievable," she whispered as she watched him sweep around her to open a cupboard and pull out a large white towel.

"Take your time and I'll get us some food," he added, shoving the fluffy cotton into her hands. "There's a medical kit in the bottom of the cupboard if you need it." He pointed to the door from where he'd just pulled the towel. "Everything else is in the top cupboard or the shower tray. New toothbrushes are in the drawer."

Sakura's unfocused eyes tried to find his, but he was already turning to leave. He walked out silently, but left the bathroom door open behind him.

With an almost desperate desire to get clean, Sakura inched closer the large shower, but changed her mind and opted for the enormous tub at the end. She turned on the water and it flooded out like a river from a tap that looked like a small waterfall. With some effort, she sat on the edge and swung her legs into the enormous bath, and then put her hands under the tap to let it splash her aching feet while warming her fingers.

But after minutes of quiet contemplation, Sakura absently fixated on the idea of drowning herself in the hot water. She stared at the reflection of herself in the fat silver tap. An unrecognizable woman stared back with pale skin, dishevelled pink hair, and the stain of smeared make-up rimming her tired green eyes. Spatters and trails of blood marked her powder-blue uniform, and she rubbed a hand roughly over it and then worked at her hair with shaking fingers. Dirt caked her legs here and there, and her skin felt tight and rough.

She was an utter mess.

Be it the fatigue or the sight of herself lost and frightened, she couldn't stop the tears as they burned her eyes and dropped on her knees.

Riding on the back of Kakashi's motorcycle, she had promised herself she'd be strong and get through this, but the inevitable moment of falling apart grabbed her without warning.

"…eggs, butter, cheese and a baguette as well," Kakashi muttered into his cordless phone as he unlatched the liquor cabinet and pulled out two glasses and a full bottle of Crown Royal. The voice on the other end uttered some random amount and Kakashi responded coolly with, "Put it on my account."

"Of course. Very good, Mr. Hatake," the man said congenially, and then hung up.

For a good twenty minutes after the call, Kakashi lazed, exhausted, on one of his chairs, his head lying heavily on the back of the soft leather. His destroyed jacket lay on the countertop and he hadn't even had the strength to take off his tie. It took everything he had to stay awake as he sipped at the smooth rye and rubbed at his shoulder.

The security bell sounded once pulling Kakashi from his hazy thoughts so he begrudgingly rose and then rode the elevator down to retrieve the food he'd ordered from the early market. On the ride back up, he had to put his hand on the mirror to steady his tired body so he wouldn't fall over. Fatigue was setting in so heavily that it was like a tight spring around his chest and legs, threatening to drop him where he stood.

When he finally put the bag down on his counter-top, he realized that his young companion had not yet emerged from the shower. It had been at least a half an hour since he'd handed her the towel - even with the most diligent of women, she had to be nearly finished by now.

Grabbing up his glass of whiskey from the counter, Kakashi walked calmly through the bedroom to where he'd left the door open to the bathroom. Although he expected to see her struggling with everything that was turning her life upside down, he didn't expect to find her the way he did.

The water in the tub ran hot and a little bit of steam filled the room. A thin film of condensation coated the mirror and the glass walls of the shower.

Sakura was sitting in the tub, though not herself. The small bit of strength and perseverance she'd shown at the last apartment with that smooth right hook to his chin seemed to have drained out of her. As he neared the back of the bathroom, he stepped around her rumpled garments on the floor and stopped just at the short step up into the tub. He placed his drink on the vanity.

Shivering, even though the water was hot, Sakura was slumped over her knees with her legs curled up against her front, her hands clenched together around her legs so tightly, her knuckles were turning pale.

The skin on her chest and arms where the hot water met the air was an angry red from the burning heat. She was half submerged - her long pink hair was wet, hanging down her back and shoulders like thick twisted branches. Her green eyes peered up at him over her knees and he could see the black marks from her mascara as it trickled down her face among the droplets and her tears.

He could see how much he failed her. Maybe the moment they mentioned they knew about her, he should have extracted her, taken her somewhere to hide. He supposed that no matter what he did, somehow her life would get thrown apart like it was now. Up to this moment, she had been fairly resilient. But it was inevitable that it would catch with to her.

Lifting both hands with a little effort on the part of his left, Kakashi began to pull the end out of his tie with smooth tugs until it came apart. As he moved to take it off, her green eyes followed what he was doing. Slowly, Kakashi slid the tie away, the shift of it through his collar tickling the back of his neck. He snapped it away from his shirt and dropped it on the floor next to her stained uniform and the tell tale cotton of white panties just underneath that. Next, his strong fingers went to the small buttons of his shirt, feeling the effort in his pained arm as he undid one at a time, moving further and further down until he had the shirt completely open.

A second to hesitate came upon Kakashi, knowing that she might be shocked at his scars, but for now, that sort of vanity had to be left behind. Pulling the shirt from his sinewy shoulders, Kakashi dropped it to the floor also and sat down on the edge of the tub.

Sakura's eyes were still trained on him, wide and unnaturally timid. He didn't like that look: frightened, rimmed in red and bloodshot.

"What can I do?" he asked, feeling helpless. There was nothing comforting or consoling in a man like him. He couldn't relate. Fear for him was a sensation that increased his focus, pumped adrenaline to his limbs and brain to make it sharper and stronger. In all his years of training and missions, seeing his friends die, nothing had ever unravelled him to the point he was incapacitated in a stranger's bathtub. He'd mastered that part of himself years ago. It was nothing now.

"They're going to kill me, aren't they," Sakura breathed against her legs, the sound of her voice hollow and quiet against the blast of the water. She reached for the washcloth on the edge of the tub and pressed it to her eyes, wiping away some of the mascara and the tears that were slipping out again.

"They don't want to kill you. They want to use you. You're no good to anyone if you're dead," Kakashi tried to commiserate, but lacked enough compassion. "They want to get to Tsunade through you."

"When they do, they won't need me anymore," she whispered.

"Sakura…" Kakashi said quietly, running his fingertips over her knees to spread the droplets that had found resting places on her perfect skin. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"What can you do?" she sighed, letting her head fall back to the headrest of the bath as her eyes followed some droplets streaming down the condensation filled window.

"I think you need a drink," he said quietly.

Sakura's head lifted again and she stared at him over her knees, her words shaky as her jaw trembled. "You need a better crutch," she hitched out.

Kakashi laughed softly. "Perhaps."

A moment stretched out between them as the water soaked through his pants and dampened his skin.

Sakura's eyes wandered his strong shoulders, hard and lean. His torso was slender and firm, like a model. Feeling emboldened by impending death, she stretched out her hand to touch a thick scar on his left side. Slowly, the tip of her finger traced bumpy skin that looked like a small hole.

This time when she met his eyes, there was something else in them. Those lovely slate eyes watched her with the same intensity she'd seen on his face a few times before. It held a promise of something she might have wanted from him long ago before the chaos.

Kakashi sensed the shift in the dynamic from placation and consolation to desire. It wasn't hard to put himself in that mode as her lithe body was wet and naked, and she was looking up at him with such vulnerability; it would be only too easy to take her to bed and comfort her the only way he knew how. Instead of making things more difficult, he put his hand on the bath handle and turned it off. Silence seemed to fill the room so completely with just the drip drip drip of the last droplets from the elegant faucet.

Almost immediately, Sakura began to shiver more and Kakashi found he was getting cold as well. So doing the obvious thing, he grabbed the towel from the rack next to the bath and returned to hold it out for her.

Sakura allowed her him to help her up, his hand tightening on her as it slid around her naked waist while his other hand brought the towel around her. She imagined he believed she was ready to fall over. Maybe she was. Maybe she could curl back up somewhere and never move again. Her limbs ached, body weak, her head was slow and muddled.

As they passed the cupboard, he grabbed another towel and dabbed it over his face and body. He pulled off his wet socks and tossed them into the shower before sliding an arm around her shoulders and walking her out into the bedroom.

"Dry off and I'll be right back," Kakashi instructed. Taking his own towel, he wandered over to the dresser and pulled out something black and went back into the bathroom.

Sakura took a long slow breath as she awkwardly dried herself, finding the air intensely cold. When she was satisfied that her body was dry, she rubbed the towel through her hair, squeezed out the water and then wrapped it up. She probably should have asked first, but the large bed was so soft looking and warm, she couldn't stop herself from hobbling on her sore feet to the edge and sliding into the crisp cotton sheets. The weight of the duvet felt glorious on her limbs and she sunk in, feeling the immediate desire to close her eyes and lose the real world for a while.

Kakashi ambled back into the bedroom after quickly showering, rewrapping his arm and drying off and dressing in the bathroom to find Sakura had crawled into his bed. He couldn't blame her at all. They were more than exhausted. Her eyes were closed, her breathing steady and her body wasn't shaking anymore. It was a good sign. He himself had felt the wash of warmth from the three glasses of whiskey he'd downed in addition to the couple at the other apartment so it would be a while before he felt desperate need to get back on track in protecting them both.

Unsure if it was the right thing to do, Kakashi pulled the covers back, crawled over the edge of the bed and lay down next to Sakura; her glassy green eyes opened up to look at him.

"I'm sorry. I should have asked," she whispered.

"It's fine," he said gently. "I assumed you'd end up here. Try to get some sleep and we'll talk about the next part later."

She nodded a little and rolled over to face him.

He stared at her pink lips. He always liked her lips. They were smooth and perfect in the amber light of the room. Her half lidded eyes traced his face, waiting for an indication of emotion from him. She seemed to be on tenterhooks and he began to wonder if she knew what that sort of gaze did to him.

Unable to stop himself, Kakashi lifted a hand and put his thumb on her bottom lip, pressing just a little.

"Will you kiss me…Kakashi," she said quietly as his thumb traced over her lip to then brush her jaw line.

For a moment he hesitated, watching her shift a little so that the towel unravelled and fell away from her long damp hair. It fell around her face like a pink frame, wavy and thick. Her green eyes looked stark between the strands as she peered up at him.

"Probably not a good idea," he whispered, but leaned forward anyway.

Sakura leaned into him, the heat of one of his rough hands slid up her bare arm over the covers before his mouth brushed over hers. Kakashi worked the blanket over himself so they were both underneath. The warmth of his body seemed to radiate to her skin and she slid as close as she could while he pressed his mouth to hers. At first it was light and calm, no rush like in the coffee shop.

Sakura could smell cologne, feel the butterflies jump in her stomach and tingles of desire crawl over her naked skin. His arm slid around her, fingers splayed out over the tight muscles and the curve of her lower spine. It was like she imagined a hundred times over during the nights since the closet.

She hummed softly, enjoying the sensation of him against her, the wonderful rich feelings and the need erasing the fear from her memory for just a little while.

When his mouth parted and he matured the kiss, she was completely taken. Each sweep of his tongue, each slide of his fingers and movement of his lips kept her mind on him and him only.

For a long time, he just kissed her. Sakura's eyes were tired and kept closing but she fought it all the way. Kakashi slid down a little to press gentle kisses along her throat and collarbone and she ran her fingers though his hair and sighed softly.

But each kiss was slower, each movement filled with less effort. The adrenaline laden hours before had taken its toll on both of them and as Sakura's breathing grew heavy, Kakashi laid his head down on the pillow next to her and closed his eyes as well.

* * *

><p>Sorry. No lemon here even though I could have easily worked it in. I'll try to get one in later. So so sorry for the delay. I do not like this chapter. Its old. I've done some editing but its so…wordy – not how I like to write now. It could have rewritten it but I'm so damn lazy. I'll start working on editing the next and hope to have it up by Christmas. After that, I have one unposted chapter that is in decent shape and then if I'm inclined, I'll try to finish the story.<p>

Thanks for all the wonderful comments. I really do love AU more than anything, and I'm glad there's some AU followers out there.


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